How coordinated are W/B forces? Square Count? King safety? Black to move.

As you develop use of my square counting, you will discover a big edge where pieces and pawns dig into the enemy’s position. Pieces dominate open or half-open lines that affect both ranks and files. What impact do the major and minor pieces have here? For White, the whole army share no real collective purpose. Even the black monarch seems to have no real threat to it’s safety. The QB has not even moved. White has 3 pawn islands and 2 for Black. This generally means a black superior pawn structure. Black minor and major pieces are aimed at the center and kingside.

So kids and parents and all other readers, I leave you to decide the outcome of this game between Levon Aronian and Richard Rapport. The solution will follow tomorrow so stay tuned! Remember: Black to move and win. The solution I will add here. Warning: the solution begins with a brilliant concept. That is my only clue. Turn on your brain computer! (***)

The secret to many successful tactics result due to tempi or just one tempo creating a position that makes the whole battlefield come to life. This occurred in a game from the Novi Sad, 3rd round. I promised the answer and here it is!

I know what you are going to say: The Fischer versus Spassky World Championship Match of 1972 was due to Shelby Lyman’s brilliant performance to educate an uninformed American public about the values and greatness of our noble game. The public saw it as a war game between the lone ranger and the Russian bear. The silver bullets coming out of the six shooters of Fischer livened up spirit of the World Championship battles that were viewed world-wide but special meaning for the Americans and Russians.

At the time, George Koltanowsky (Kolty) presented a series of shorts on chess which were great entertainment. It was followed by a few individual match games which caused yawns and shrugged shoulders of interest except by a very limited group known as ardent chess fans.

In a narrow view, Americans saw it as Russia versus the USA…period.

I hate giving up on chess as a TV spectator sport. The only thing lacking is a really inventive format. How about a cartoon feature program using chess figures in better explaining chess to youngsters. Years ago, before computers, it was thought by folks like Nimsowitsch and others that kids not study chess until around age 13 or so. It was pictured as an “old man’s game” having little to no value. Today kids, both boys and girls, are throwing chess pieces around the board in record numbers. Cartoon characters and even a cartoon host(s) might draw the masses of children picking up the game at different age levels. The degree of complexity could easily be formulated to specific age groups from age 3 on.

Maybe I am stupidly naïve. Am I??? Are there none in our social fabric brave enough to test the waters? Maybe not? Maybe yes. Are there no musicians and song writers who have talent for making such a program come alive. This game which has given so much to so many around the world deserves better by its devotees, teachers, and supporters.

One thing I do know. Putting those chess pawns, knights, bishops, kings and queens in the box is disheartening. To be of value, they have to be seen, used and cherished.

It was an era when the United States was king of teams capturing first place in the fourth International Team Tournament which was the forerunner of the Chess Olympiad. The American players dominated the field and represented many of the top players across America: Isaac Kashdan (70%), Frank Marshall (62%), Arthur Dake (60%), I. A. Horowitz (69%), and Herman Steiner (70%) scoring a team high of 48 of a possible 72 points. Second place was captured by Poland who headed up a strong field by Akiba Rubinstein (60%) with 47 points. Czechoslovakia captured third place with 46 points. It was the last time Rubinstein would sit at a chess board due to having been badly scarred from a bombing in the world war. Yet, he lived another 30 years to the age of 78.

Against the USA team, Rubinstein scored a full point against Kashdan with this short key game. White: Kashdan vs. Black: Rubinstein features a Queen’s Gambit.

Bled, 1931 saw another great tournament where world champion Alexander Alekhine smashed through 26 rounds without a defeat against the crème European chess. Six years before, Nimzovich had knocked over Sir George Thomas with this pawn sortie 6… f5 for which the world champion had likely teased Sir George to repeat with “try once with success; try it again!” While Sir George has slain many a dragon, here repeats contain a lot of fire and smoke.

l. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nge2!? d:e4 5. a3 B:c3+ 6. N:c3 f5?! Nimzovich used to exercise by standing on his head upside down to rush blood to his brain. I am not sure it is advisable during a chess battle. He repeats an earlier game which he won. Could he catch the world champion asleep, perhaps? Alekhine was in attack mode for which this white line was noted. A pawn is a pawn is a famous quote by GM Evans.

CHRISTMAS IS A TIME TO REFLECT AND REJOICE IN THE BIRTH OF OUR LORD JESUS.

Regardless of beliefs that brought maturity to your life–parents, siblings, priests ministers, literature, music, educational training, and mentors, all or in part, reflect who you are that may well be altered through the time clock of life. Your individual being is the embodiment of your soul which breathes freedom and the right to worship or not your Lord.

In every sense of thought, this is how the American Dream from earliest times of braving the long journey from Europe, Asia, and Africa to the New World the risk to escape a drudgery of life from the old world. It was not instant change but a gradual realization that was molded in the character of the human race, yet to be unleashed. Brave hearts that journeys taken into the unknown with no guarantee but the willingness to work at progress and faith that our Lord had assured believers–in faith, spirit and love which embraced the first two commandments as greatest among them. This truth was an established reality that the church was the rock of every community and embraced by all faiths as a key ingredient to our direct link to God and worship.

This Christmas season is celebrated every December 25th as a time to honor our Lord Jesus. His birth was at the time when taxes were collected but the exact time was never established except that it was a time when the shepherds were in the fields tending their sheep which history points to sometime during the Fall (August – September), when the angels came to them from the heavens announcing the birth of a savior.

Why did not the angels announce this great gift to the kings and mighty? No, it was given honor to the shepherds in the fields–the workers, the love and joy of the peace seekers and protectors of their flocks.

The Bible speaks of the Magi who saw the star and was drawn to follow it. The Bible says that three gifts were given so it was assumed that there were three Magi which brought gold, incense and myrrh (used to anoint the dead). A dream warned the Magi to beware of King Herod so they took a different route back to their own country.

It is the lesson we Christians embrace that Jesus was not born among the elite of the time but came forth out of the common folk lore. He was born without a crown that depicted kings of that time. He was a carpenter and when he disappeared from time to time, his answer to his mother and father was that he was about his Father’s business. He went forth in his early thirties probably enlisting his disciples early in his travels.

The story of Jesus is true. He walked the paths shared by many today and his fate was sealed on the Cross to save those who came to be reborn in his spirit, love and grace.

Christmas is a time to reflect and rejoice in prayer and song of the birth of Baby Jesus–God’s gift of grace and love for all mankind who seek him.

SO I WISH EVERYONE A VERY MERRY AND PEACEFUL CHRISTMAS AND A NEW YEAR OF PRAYER AND GUIDANCE IN OUR MODERN DAY WORLD. I PRAY FOR THE SICK, SAFETY OF OUR GOVERNMENT AND POLICING OFFICIALS AND A JOY TO LIVE AND WORSHIP AS YOU PLEASE. AS TINY TIM SAID IN A CHRISTMAS CAROL FINAL ….”GOD BLESS US EVERYONE!”

What has always attracted me to the joys coming from chess is that one can look back to earlier times to see the youthful adventures of young champions who had yet to reach maturity. And one might say that magazine subscriptions to chess periodicals is a necessary component to achieve this; we rarely find our purpose otherwise.

We often read about the difference between male and female chess strength. Perhaps I could say, not being a great myself but able to gain a perspective from the view of my readership, that there tends to be a different approach to handling positions and openings. Each receives the benefit of home study or even coaches and methods of instruction. These can vary where the skill is often seen in the mental attachment each is willing to absorb through such training. And in the final analysis, it is individual style of likes and dislikes that mold the maturity of youth.

Thus, I give two games, one each, that might clarify my comments that are based from their respective results. I point to theory, strategy, level of concentration ingrained in the style of each champion. Enjoy.

14. Bd3 Nf6 15. Bf4 Qd8 16. Nb6 Ra7 17. Qc2! Putting pressure on the kingside. On the CB web the Q was moved to e2 which fouled up the whole conversation. It reminds me of the erroneous move transmittal during a USCF Team League game where it took several moves to realize something was amiss! High tech is not perfect in the hands of mortals!

17. …h6 18. b4 Nd5 19. N:d5 c:d5 20. a4 Like many girls fast play seems to enliven the spirit. With only 3-minutes left for the t/c, it became a speed race. My opponent had lots of time left. Taking over 40-minutes on a position cost me. The position is easier to play with white.

What I like about this comparison is both players played these games near the end of the tournament so both had probably suffered physical and mental stress.

The male has the tougher schedule per ratings. He also has likely much greater depth of knowledge coming from actual tournament play with tournament pressure equal for both. The female battle plan is different. I see it in comment structure. The sense of preparation is given less attention to detail and more to familiar general ideas. The love and spirit of play is equal.

Having been selected for being a distinguished member of the Committee to raise millions for a monument to honor Hillary R. Clinton, as just one of many toward that end, I really feel honored to have earlier suggested that Hillary retire and not run for President but enjoy retirement from public life, enjoy the billions she sits on and reap the rewards of being the wife of Bill, having a beautiful daughter, a noisy but cheerful smiling grandchild where she could fully enjoy her wealth of self and playing grandma. There she could watch her looks, give aid to the needy with generous donations to thousands of charities that scream from the rooftops for the grave yard that has been weaved during the past eight years of democratic fanfare.

Unfortunately, she did not listen to me. Of course she never listens to anybody. So, she looks like she belongs now in a soup kitchen of the Salvation Army, Meals On Wheels, or the American Red Cross. That is performance of her talent of a worthwhile value.

Of course, the Democrat Party, trying to hide its deplorable and despicable recent folly in the 2016 election fiasco that was in bed with the news media 99% looking for the head of Donald J. Trump, literally found millions wasted on phony-baloney. They never learned the axiom: Never stir the ashes of a long silent citizenry just waiting for the spark to be inflamed within the body politic.

Well, not to get off the beaten path, the general thought was to put her on Mount Rushmore. The problem was she had two faces and the stone cutters couldn’t agree as to which face was real.

Then the plan agreed to was to put her statue between George Washington and Barack Hussein Obama in the Washington, D.C. Hall of Fame. Then, it was discovered by a few that George never told a lie, and Barack never told the truth.

Just what to do? Then someone said that since she was hyped up to grant free access to our shores that she should be placed next to Christopher Columbus, the greatest Democrat of them all. He left not knowing where he was going, and when he got there, did not know where he was. He returned confused, not knowing where he had been, and did it all on someone else’s money!

On behalf of the Committee’s Investigation into the plan and merits of its being widely thought of as a final Hail Mary touchdown pass, I submit this altered paper.

The art of the chess problem is rich and long. Some are simple; others are extremely difficult to solve. The simple ones can be mind boggling to the novice. Such is the following position: White Ph2 B/e4 and g1, Qh4/Kh1. Black Kg7 / Bb7 / Qa3.

Chess problems usually find the squares to be the key to chess strategy which often feature the lack of mobility for the king. If you had been privileged to view the Carlsen final Q-sac brilliancy, the actual condition was easy to arrive at. Just using square count and viewing the W/Q squares it attacked, would show easily the crushing move that was so appealing to the audience. Often, it is the seemingly “impossible” that turns the screws in the position leading to checkmate. The key as I said to checkmate was the elimination of squares for the king to escape checks.

The above sample position shows Black to move and force checkmate. The Queen guards the Bishop on e4. So the question is: How does the mate occur? Or, does it? The answer is that the improbable becomes the possible and fulfilled in the actual moves to play. 1…Qa3-f3 check. This forces 2. B:Q and it is the black B:f3 checkmate.

It is easy to ask the computer to solve a problem or any game position to choose a course of action. But the chess player loses the battle because the human brain is not challenged. That is the key reason to use your own computer–your brain not some electronic device!

26-year-old Magnus Carlsen has successfully defended his world title. He won using a problem like Queen sac. Games will follow.

GM Mark Taimanov passed away at the age of 90. He was Bobby Fischer’s first opponent in his run of famous matches winning 6-0. He was as terrific with music being a concert pianist. He was a product of the cold war era and played many of the world-class players.

27th NATO Chess Championship was won by Poland ahead of Germany and Denmark. The USA team finished in 4th place.

A new giant catalog featuring many beautiful sets, boards, and tables was just completed and mailed to USCF members.

A hijab is a veil traditionally worn by Muslim women in the presence of adult males outside of their immediate family which covers the head and chest. The term can further refer to any head, face, or body covering worn by Muslim women that conforms to a certain standard of modesty.

IM Nazi Paikidze apparently did research on this whole issue to discover that our state department, Canada and the United Kingdom had issued travel warnings to Iran because Iran continues to detain and imprison US citizens including students, journalists, academics on charges of espionage and posting a threat to national security.

With this published information she protested FIDE’s decision on the site, authoring a petition for this cause and offered two possible solutions for FIDE: 1. Change the venue or postpone the competition until another organizer is found to host the championship in a no conflict venue. 2. Require that wearing a hijab be optional and guarantee no discrimination based on gender, nationality, or any other human rights as pointed out in the FIDE handbook.

The petition was signed by 16200 signatures as of 10/21/16. It has the support of US Chess president Gary L. Walters. Garry Kasparov, a chess legend and the chairman of the human rights foundation on Twitter writing: “I fully support the US woman champion, N. Paikidze in her protest….Women’s rights are human rights.”

As a columnist, I do not want to become embroiled in lengthy discussions about this situation. I am not familiar with all the arguments but those expressed within the pages of Chess Life and New In Chess provide sufficient airing. I have no control over what any government policy or ruling by powers within chess such as FIDE, USCF, or any other national entity wishes to pursue. None pay me any attention so my views remain my own. I do hope that some resolution can be found so that this great women’s tournament can be played and remain in force for all to enjoy.–Don.